Method of making floor-boards.



PATENTED MAR. l, 1904.

E. J. FULGHUM.

METHOD OF MAKING FLOOR BOARDS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 25. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

WW1/wwe@ UN'ITEDl-STATES Patented March 1, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

ELIsHA J; FULGHUM, or rRAvERsE CITI/r,l MICHIGAN.

IVIETHODA AOF MAKING FLOOR-BOARDS.

SPECIFICATION forming page Letters Patent No. 753,791, dated March 1, 1904.

' Application iled August '25, 1903.' Serial No. 170,758. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern: Be it known that I, ELIsIIA J. FULGHUM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Traverse City, in the county of Grand Traverse and State of Michigan, have inventedfa Method of Making Floor-Boards, of which the following is a specifi-cation. I

This invention relates to yan improved method of producing Hoor-boards.

'It has been for some time and is nowfcustomary to unite the ends of floor-boards when laid by matching the same .together at the ends with the usual plain tongue and groove, the same as usedA on the sides'of the boards. It has been claimed that this method of end matching has to a certain extent been a saving in material, thereby enabling the manufacturer tov use short pieces that would otherwise be wasted. This, however, is erroneous, for the reason that long prior to the practice of the end matching these short pieces of Hooring were used with the ends square butted to the same extreme shortness as they are now used with matched ends. The lengths of commercial hard-wood flooring as listed and'sold by all manufacturers to-day is from two feet to sixteen feet, and it has been the practice of builders to lay flooring from two feet to sixteen feet long directly on joists or on a subfloor, as the specifications of the particular case might require. After taking out the commercial product of the lumber for iooring purposes, as is now customary, there is still a large percentage of waste (at least from ten to fifteen per cent.) which cannot be utilized by the old method of end matching, as pieces of floor-boards shorter than two feet have no commercial value on the market and must therefore go to waste. The commercial value of floor-boards depends upon the lengths, the short lengths being very undesirable and bringing a much lower price on the market. By my present invention I purpose to obviate this loss by short lengths, to save all the good material there is in the lumber, which would be about fifteen per cent. more than at present, and to produce the lengths of iiooringdesired by the consumer. I purpose to Ejoin these short pieces of floor-boards together by end matching, so as to resist longitudinal strain in one continuous desiredl length while it is in process of manufacture in the factory. This process 'does not only apply to the joining to-v gether of promiscuous lengths or pieces from two to sixteen feet comprising the regular grades of commercial ooring, but also I purpose to join together in long strips of iooring short blocks from two inches to two feet long which may be taken from scrap or waste, and thereby arrange vthese short blocks in fancy patterns, lwhich may be of different woods and colors, and thereby-enable me to 'get as good compensation for mywastematerial as for the commercial product.

To secure'the foregoingadvantages and obviate the enumerated diiiicultiesare therefore the main objects of my invention; and theinvention consists in the method of producing floor-boards of a desired length and composed of a'plurality of sections, each section being first end matched by interlocking joint mem- ,Y

bers adapted to withstand when joined' longitudinal strain; second, connecting or joining said sections soas` to form a continuous board or strip; third, subsequently when required dressing the board to reduce the same to a uniform thickness, andffinally, tonguing and grooving the sides thereof.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is an edge View of a board made in accordance with my method, and Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is an edge view of the board after the sections have been end matchedand joined and before dressing and side matching. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the meeting ends of two adjacent sections before the same are joined. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the board at the joint, parts being broken away to expose the same.

Similar numerals of reference indicate similar parts in all the figures of the drawings.

' Sections l, of wood of any kind and number, are iirst end matched, each being provided with a member of any desired form of interlocking joint, by which is, primarily meant one that will when joined or connected resist longitudinal 'stress and not pull apart. As will be obvious, one end Iof a section will be formed with a male member 2 and the other with a companion or female member 3. A

IOO

plurality of the sections thus formed are jointed together, thus for all practical purposes becoming a single board. Strips thus formed are when it is necessary by reason of ununiform thickness of the sections dressed to a uniform thickness and finally side matchedthat is, provided with the usual tongue and groove 8 and 9. When thus completed, the long boards may be cut into uniform lengths desired, thus escaping waste by fitting, &c. Of course the'end matching of the sections obviates the necessity of arranging the joints so as to occur over the lioor-joists, and by having the joints of the interlocking style there is no yield or give, as might be the case with the plain tongue and groove. When the strips are thus jointed together, the board may be handled the same as if integral, yet at the same time no gluing is necessary or desirable.

While other forms of joints adapted to withstand or resist longitudinal strain may be used,

the `one shown is preferred, `both on account 1; of its cheapness and simplicity and also its extreme rigidity.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, it will be seen that the joint member 2 (the male) consists of j, a transverse preferably cylindrical bead 4 and aconnecting intermediate web 5, joining the f same tothe-end of the board. The joint member 3 (the female) consists of a transverse bor`e,}6,;designedfrto receive the bead 4 and a narrow slot or throat 7 for the web.

,rllllese` members may `be connected and the 'VLj'jijritformed by sliding them laterally tol, lie'said'members be forced into a mutually Oe'ther, It is preferred that when thus joined bindingpositi'on. j This may be provided for fin various ways,ybut preferably, as shown in Fig.,5,r by Adisposing thelvbore 6 and bead 4 slightly at an angleto each other, and therefore the sections on which they are formed. This difference in dispositionv is barely perceptiblefand yet ,has the desired, result of drawing the sections tightly and firmly together at their joints.

By using sections of woodof different kinds a mosaic e'ect may be produced.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isw

1. The herein-described method of producl ing composite floor-boards, which consists in providing the ends of a plurality of sections with companion members of an interlocking ing floor-boards which consists in connecting a plurality of floor-board sections by means of an interlocking joint adapted toresist longitudinal strain, and .submitting the strip thus formed to a finishing process.

4. The herein-described method of producing Hoor-boards, which consists in end matching and connecting a plurality of short sections by means of an interlocking joint adapted to resistlongitudinal strain, subsequently finishing the same, and finally cutting into predetermined lengths.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two sub scribing witnesses.

L. Roscon, J. A. McINTosH. 

